The Runaways
by SpicyTacos
Summary: "...But we won't be here to find out." He then did something completely unexpected. He slowly stood up from where he was sitting, and grabbed an old, ragged grey backpack from the side of our room, beginning to stuff it with clothing from our dressers. I stared at him in confusion. Was he trying to say we run away from home? We couldn't just run away... Could we?


"I WON'T LET YOU!"

"Get away from the door, Alfred."

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU NEAR MATTIE! HE DIDN'T KNOCK IT OVER ON PURPOSE, I SWEAR; I PUSHED HIM! IT WAS ME. "

"Don't lie to me, _boy._"

"I'M NOT LYING! COME ON DOWN TO THE KITCHEN I'LL SHOW-!"

"This is no time for your _childish_ games. Move out of the doorway, or I'll remove you from it."

"I will never move out of the way willingly!"

I heard a smack and a thump as my brother fell to the ground, his small body unable to take the force. He let out a whimper, but did not attempt to get up. A few more thumps issued from the hallway, presumably him being kicked a few more times.

My bedroom door creaked open, and I tensed in my hiding place. My dad would do _anything _when he was drunk. He's smashed windows, flooded the bathroom, even drown our old dog in a drunken rampage. He was nothing less than terrifying.

"Come out, boy," he said with a sick sweetness in his voice, making me almost jump out of my thoughts. I scooted farther into the corner of the closet, trying to make myself as small as possible. His loud footsteps rang throughout the room as he searched for me. Maybe, just this once, he wouldn't find me...

But, my hopes were in vain. He pulled the closet open and grabbed my hair, yanking me out in one swift movement. I whimpered in fear, as he glared at me with his icy blue eyes. He swung me over, causing me to stumble, as he released my hair.

"Pathetic child," he slurred, his balance becoming more unstable. "Can' even stan' right, all weak and s'uff." He started laughing uncontrollably to himself, making a shiver run down my spine. Within not even a minute, his laughter had stopped, and a more prominent, angry expression rose on his face. "What you say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry," I squeaked quickly, holding my arm in front of my face as he approached me.

"Sude of said it sooner," I tensed. A flash of black came right before my vision as his fist collided with my head, causing me to fall to the ground.

"Can't you defend yourself? Be more like your brother!" He yelled, his foot going directly into my side. I laid still, fearing if I moved in the slightest. He seemed to become angrier at my lack of response.

"BE LIKE YOUR BROTHER!" He shouted, his foot colliding into my side four more times. "STAND UP!"

I spent no time wasting, standing on my feet immediately while ignoring the pain in my side and head. I swayed slightly, making my dad even angrier.

"Come on, _sweetie, _stand up straight!" I straightened myself, making sure I was stiff as a board. My dad laughed at my fear, knocking me in the head again, making me stumble yet again to the floor.

"You can't even take a punch!" He scoffed, adding another kick to my side. "Or a kick for that matter," He laughed at his own joke. "Worthless little thing. Come on show me how you fight, stand up!" I shakily stood again, trying to force myself to stop shaking.

"Fight me, show me what you got! Punch me, _thing_, take a wack at me!" Tears began to form in my eyes, as I obeyed my father. I squeezed my eyes shut as I gently punched his shoulder, earning a harsh laugh in response.

"I could punch better than that when I was a toddler! You're five now, BE A MAN! SHOW ME A REAL PUNCH! Like this," He punched me in my stomach, causing me to fall to the floor yet again. I whimpered, wishing that I didn't trip and knock his glass over. That I could of been better...

He opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the phone interrupted.

"I will finish with you later," He quickly paced out of the room, not bothering to shut the door in the process. He deliberately stepped on my brother on the way out, smiling as he walked away. Alfred gave a moan, watching as my father retreated. As soon as he knew my dad was out of eyesight, he got up and, within a flash, was by my side, yanking up my shirt to see any wounds.

My whole torso was filled with dark bruises, mostly on my right side, and was slightly bleeding. My face had a large bruise on my cheek as well. He gave a loud sigh, getting up to retrieve the First Aid Kit.

It's now like a routine; I get hurt, he immediately comes to my side and tries his best with the First Aid Kit he stole from our Grandpa Billy's house last summer.

"This is going to sting a little, Matt," He said solemnly, applying some type of cream on my side. I gave a gasp, and he muttered apologetically, saying that it will get infected otherwise. He put a few bandages on me, cleaned out a few wounds, then took out a lollipop from the kit, unwrapping it and handing it to me.

"Good job, Matt," He smiled at me, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. The door down stairs slammed a moment later, causing me to jump and almost choke on my lollipop in surprise. Alfred immediately ran to the window in the front of my room, almost falling on his face at the speed he was going. He gave a sigh, and slid against the wall with relief.

"He left," Alfred said, noting the confusion on my face. I smiled in relief. That meant I definitely wouldn't have to deal with a beating for a few more hours.

"How long do you think he'll be?" I asked, taking the lollipop out of my mouth.

"I dunno, but we won't be here to find out." He then did something completely unexpected. He slowly stood up from where he was sitting, and grabbed an old, ragged grey backpack from the side of our room, beginning to stuff it with clothing from our dressers. I stared at him in confusion, my lollipop accidentally slipping out of my hand on to the floor. Was he trying to say we run away from home? We couldn't just run away... Could we?

"Alfie..." I started, "we can't just pack out stuff and leave..."

"Why not? _Alex _clearly doesn't want us here, so I have no intention in staying."

"We can't though; he's our dad..."

"And a great job he's doing at that!" He said sarcastically, stomping his foot and turning to me in anger. I flinched back, and Alfred's eyes softened. "Ever since mom was killed, he's been different. More different than I think you can remember. It's been three years, and he's getting worser and worser. I'm scared he might accidentally go to far... 'Specially with you, Mattie, you're really little."

I blushed in embarrassment.

"I don't want to see you hurt... I'm your big brother. I need to be a hero and save you from this place." His eyes were filled with determination, and the hard, uncharacteristic look on his face caused me to remain silent, as he returned back to packing things.

I watched him as he carefully looked through our clothing, It wasn't long until he was satisfied on the clothing he had packed. He smiled, flinging the bag over his shoulder and motioning me to follow.

I nodded hesitantly, quickly going to follow after him.

"Wait, hold on, let me grab something." Alfred said, turning back and running into our room. It was literally a few seconds later when he returned, his smile wide and my white stuff bear stretched out in his arms.

I gave a gasp and grabbed my bear, hugging him closely to me. How could I have forgotten Kumajiro?

"I won't leave you," I whispered in his ear, hugging him tighter. "I promise."

"Why don't you put him in our bag, so we don't accidentally forget him." I looked at Kumajiro then back at Alfred uncertainly. Would he be able to breath in there?

"Could you keep it a little unzipped, so he can have air?"

"Sure," He took Kumajiro, carefully placing him in the bag, and zipping everything but a little hole. "Alright, ready to finish packing?" I nodded, giving him a small smile, as we started down the hallway.

"I only managed to fit like three shirts for both of us," He said, his usual energy booming in his voice. "And a few pairs of pants. I packed more of your stuff though; you need it more." He gave me a large smile. "All we need is some money... Do you have any in your piggy bank?"

I frowned. "No, dad took all of our money yesterday. 'Member?" He frowned, his eyes glancing around the house.

"Oh yeah..." He sighed, "I guess we need to go without money..."

"But, how are we gonna get food?"

"I'll figure it out... Trust me, Mattie, I will." He flashed me another smile, his face filled with confidence. "I'll check the fridge for any food, in the meantime, go grab the sleeping bag from dad's room; we'll need it."

I nodded and quickly grabbed the sleeping bag from dad's room. It was pretty color of red and _enormous_.

Alfred had checked all of the cabinets and the fridge for food, but managed to only find a half-eat bag of potato chips.

"The fridge was just filled with his drinks," Alfred spat, his disgust clear in his voice.  
"But, don't worry, Mattie, I'll figure something out. I promise."

_"_I know you will; you always do," I replied, looking directly into his eyes and giving him a reassuring smile. "Do we need anything else?"

"I think that's about it-!"

The sound of my dad's car arriving in the driveway caused me to freeze in fear. Oh no, oh no, he was going to figure out what we were doing, and he was going to punish us for it. He was going to come and...and...

Alfred threw the backpack over his shoulder and grabbed me by the hand, running as fast as he could, causing me to stumble slightly, but I managed not to fall.

He quickly opened the door to our backyard, not bothering to shut it as we ran. He picked me up quickly and threw me over the fence into a bush. Before I managed to get to my feet, he was already over the fence, grabbing my hand and running again with incredible speed.

I could hear my dad's furious screams for us to come back, but we never stopped running. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breathing fast, and my hand sweaty from holding onto Alfred's.

The world looked so much bigger, then it did inside my old home. I mean; I really never saw the world outside my house, as my dad never let me go anywhere. There was so many people, lingering the streets, all on their own agenda. The buildings were huge; it was like they almost touched the sky!

"We. must have- made it to- the city." Alfred panted, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. "Wow." He huffed.

"What...What do we do now?" I questioned, looking up at my brother curiously. He gave an enormous grin, and a small laugh.

"Whatever we need to do. And the first thing we need to do is find somewhere to sleep. I'm worn out. And, well, if I am, I bet you're more. Come on."

And there we started our journey...

We were delinquents. We were living in the city. We were on our own...

We were runaways.

**I'm _obviously _still an amateur writer, as I am only sixteen. But, I would love some criticism! It helps me improve ^-^**

**Oh, and those who are following my story _Expect the Unexpected_; I have almost actually finished the next chapter. Shocker right? It should be up sometime today or early tomorrow.  
**

**And an Avenger's crack-shot will be there soon. **

**Also, do you think I write better in first-person then third-person?**

**Love you all!**


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